Vice Provost for Research

Under the leadership of Vice Provost for Research Bogdan Vernescu, WPI’s research award volume has increased steadily over each of the last five years. In 2020, the university received a record-breaking $56.3M in awards from government, corporate, and private funders to advance and promote innovative and consequential research at WPI. Explorations are underway in areas as varied as detecting prostate cancer using robotic tools to uncovering the pandemic’s impact on students’ learning abilities.

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Bogdan Vernescu, Vice Provost for Research

"WPI's world-class research enterprise continues to see significant growth. In the past five years, our funding has increased by 140 percent as our research-active faculty members submit and win increasingly larger proposal funding. WPI continues in make purposeful and strategic gains in attracting outstanding faculty members, developing an internal funding programs to encourage collaboration, promoting valuable resources for faculty and staff, and reinforcing our existing campus infrastructure to support our research across WPI.”

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Location:

Boynton Hall

Advancing Research Goals with Expertise

Overseeing all aspects of the research enterprise at WPI, the Office of the Vice Provost for Research ensures that the university continues to reach proposal development and funding award goals while fostering and monitoring transparent and ethical research practices among faculty, staff, and partners. Faculty are supported through internal grants and seed funding mechanisms to explore new ideas and collaborations and through high-tech instrumentation to enable cutting-edge research.

WPI’s research contributes discoveries with broad impact. WPI has patented and licensed new technologies and ideas at an ever-increasing rate, expanding work that benefits society, improves lives, and creates jobs while strengthening the revenue stream for the university.

As we continue to advance science with our research, various funding agencies including the National Science Foundation, U.S. Army, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Education, and the National Institutes of Health invest in our distinctive research efforts.

PracticePoint Expands Research, Development, and Commercialization Possibilities at WPI 

In addition to many state-of-the-art facilities co-located around campus, PracticePoint offers an innovative space to encourage academic and industry collaboration. At this membership-based, on-campus healthcare development and testing facility—which includes an MRI machine and a fully functional operating room—researchers can delve deeply into emergent medical, cyber, and physical systems and devices that will improve the future of patient care.

Learn more about PracticePoint

The Learning Sciences & Technologies group continues to expand its research reach in the digital learning space. The resulting proposals brought in a record $12M+ in FY20 for work done at WPI in collaboration with colleagues at other universities and companies. Multiple larger grants support WPI’s collaboration with the ASSISTments Foundation, led by Neil Heffernan, professor of computer science, which leverages a learning platform where teachers can assess and redirect teaching efforts right in the classroom, improving student outcomes in real time.

Learn about Learning Sciences & Technologies

$31.8M

in research expenditures

2020

445

research proposals submitted

(2020)

$56.3M

research funding from government, corporate, and private sources through OSP (FY 2020)

Commercialization

The Office of Technology Commercialization accelerates ideas coming from WPI’s classrooms, labs, and collaborative spaces. The OTC protects intellectual property and gauges potential marketability, growth, patenting, or licensing potential and start-ups.

Office of Technology Commercialization

Collaboration

If you’re looking for collaborators for your work, WPI’s Interdisciplinary Groups will help pair your research idea with others interested in similar pursuits. Learn more about how WPI is building communities that coalesce around like-minded passions.

Interdisciplinary Groups

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Community

At WPI, we believe in creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community where everyone feels welcome, finds a sense of belonging, and can thrive professionally and personally. Working here will inspire you to excel in both teaching and research.

Career Opportunities

News

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WPI Receives Third Round of Funding for the Center for Resource Recovery and Recycling

December 07, 2021

Institutes & Centers

Research

Employers & Partners

George C. Gordon Library

Find rich digital collections of research and information to inform and guide your literature reviews and proposals in the Gordon Library. Take advantage of expert consultation and tools for identifying grant opportunities and literature, managing citations, and curating your online presence for accuracy and findability by reviewers and grantors.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship

The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center focuses on helping innovative ideas turn into reality through seed funding, mentoring, workshops, and networking programs. We teach the basics of entrepreneurial mindset, support the development of ideas, and guide entrepreneurs through foundational skill-building techniques that will result in making an impact for the greater good.